Slashdot Mirror

I'm a fan of foldable bikes. Think: Dahon and/or Bike Friday. They solve one of the biggest problems with bikes in conjunction with an automotive culture: getting "stuck" with a bike that you rode to work but won't be driving home with.

So, I've spent a lot of time on a 16" wheel on a Dahon Stowaway with performance tires, and a finely tuned internal 3-speed hub that made it into a surprisingly fast speed demon. I loved it - it was fast, casual, and convenient. Sadly, it was stolen.

The small, 16" wheels are surprisingly effective on commuter bike! No, you don't go off road on 16" wheels - but ask yourself: do you really do that much anyway?

There's this new thing called "Ebay"
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html...

In all seriousness though, for what you are looking for they are about $70
I went with a used bench-top model myself because the analog display looks cool and I don't really need all the features. I'm just a hobbyist and not in need of what your students will be doing.

sorry.. wrong link! here's the right one http://item.ebay.com/291125433...

No plan but it's a "T-mobile", does that mean you buy a locked phone upfront?

someone needs to brush up on their reading comprehension skills! ...
what part of

eBay exclusive ZTE OPEN C Latest Firefox OS 3G dual core Unlocked Smartphone

do you fail to comprehend??
http://item.ebay.com/291125433...

How about $100?
Announcement post; https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/...
US store: http://item.ebay.com/291125433...

So why anyone get this instead of an Android device? There are plenty of usable Android devices for less than $100 (unsubsidized).

You can get a Firefox phone right now, available for use in Germany, Russia, United Kingdom, and the United States. It is $99, and comes with a 4-inch screen, dual core 1.2Ghz and 512MB RAM. It is the ZTE Open C, available on eBay. Just search for Firefox OS, and you'll find it.They link to it from the Firefox OS site. http://item.ebay.com/291125433...

How about $100?
Announcement post; https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/...
US store: http://item.ebay.com/291125433...

This is not some new-fangled "gee I don't know how to design a 'computerized' user interface" thing. Poorly thought out and over-elaborate controls are embedded deep within GM design culture, and have been for at least fifty years if not longer.

As proof I present the heat controls which I remember totally ruining my Mom's otherwise awesome '68 Skylark Sport Coupe for her.

To call for heat or air conditioning, you frob the thumb wheel until you think the bar graph is indicating the temperature you might want. The problem, as you'll see if you look at the worm gear mechanism inside, is that in order to give enough mechanical advantage to work the cables with a thumbwheel, the wheel has to turn maybe five full revolutions to move through the entire range. On top of that, you manipulate the wheel through the exposed arc that sits above the panel, which means you can move it at most about 45 degrees with a swipe of your thumb, or 8 swipes to get a full 360 revolution, or forty swipes to go from max heat to max AC. All the while you were supposed to be watching the bar graph instead of the road. Many's the time I heard my sainted mother swearing under her breath as she tried to get a little heat or AC out of the damned thing.

If I recall, one "helpful" feature of the bar graph was that it turned blue when going from heat to AC and orange when going the other way. This is another very GM touch. When I was in college I had a friend who had an Oldsmobile from the same era with a bar graph speedo that turned red when it exceeded 100MPH. You can imagine how safe *that* feature was in the hands of a young male driver.

I've been waiting years for the quad-core 65W Socket 775 CPUs to come down. The Q9550S was released in January of 2009 and still goes for over $200. Meanwhile the Core 2 Duo in the system I would upgrade is working fine; I just check ebay a couple times per year to see if I can pick up a quad core for cheap, but no.

You can make pure gas if you want. Here's a guide.

You can import the 1 liter funnels from China.

By the way Zimbabwe had a currency between 1980 and 2009, called the Zimbabwean dollar, Z$, that hyperinflated through the roof by not having a sound monetary policy - the president of dictator or whatever you wanna call him, instead of collecting taxes and staying within the limits of available funds collected, he simply didn't collect taxes and started up the printing machines when it came time to pay any government dues, such as employee salaries, or weapons for his military people. You can see pictures of Z$500 and later Z$100,000,000,000,000 (100 trillion Z$ banknotes) at the wikipedia article, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z... and you can buy one of these notes on Ebay at http://www.ebay.com/itm/100-Tr... the bidding stands at US$5.50 with 3 days and 3 hrs left to bid, or $16.99 buy it now on other auctions. The Z$ went through three redenominations, dropping zeros at the end (ATM machines were started choking up and software had to be custom designed for Zimbabwe), According to the wikipedia article,

The third redenomination produced the "fourth dollar" (ZWL), which was worth 1 trillion ZWR (third dollar), or 10^25 ZWD (first dollar). Despite attempts to control inflation by legislation, and three redenominations (in 2006, 2008 and 2009), use of the Zimbabwean dollar as an official currency was effectively abandoned on 12 April 2009 due to the skyrocketing inflation. According to some sources, a person would starve on just a billion Zimbabwe dollars.[3] This was a result of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe legalising use of foreign currencies for transactions in January 2009.[4]

That's 10^25 first dollars, or 25 zeros, or 4thZ$1 = 1st Z$10 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 revaluation for the 4th generation in 2009 compared to the 1980 dollars. The result was legalizing foreign currencies, such as the stable US$ that the whole world uses where there are currency control issues, including China themselves used to peg their currency against the US$ and underwrite it's value with a tremedous amount of sweat. But once you remove the Chinese underwriting support, sending the US$ into an inflation spiral becomes easy, and inflating the heck out of our currency would be a great way to get rid of national debt, and create havoc in the whole world's economy. In theory holders of debt notes get paid an interest rate for the risk of inflation and other risks they assume in lending that money, but if inflation gets out of control, the winners are not the interest collectors but the debtors, because they have to pay back almost nothing, comparatively speaking.

Tried Mac in 2013 for 6 months, not an awesome experience. Never freed up large amounts of memory unless i did it manually, adobe products temp files took up 130gb and not intuitive to find and delete, little things like single clicking on a long file name to see the whole file from the desk top or even finder was impossible. That was important to me since my photo file names are usually pretty long(Latename - date - sequence). It didnt work for the way that "I" work so it wasnt an option. Plus, bought the MBP maxed out for 2500, couldnt sell if for more than 1300. Complete waste of money and time for me.

If you didn't like it, you didn't like it, and that's fine... you should certainly work using whatever tools you feel most comfortable with. But your specific points I don't get.

Why are you trying to micromanage memory usage? This isn't the 90's. The OS will free up memory when it is needed. Any memory that is just sitting around "free" is memory wasted. The best way to check if you're running into memory constraints is to check if the OS is using swap at all (Mavericks has a nice memory pressure graph too, though in 2013 you probably did not have Mavericks).

Adobe software sucks, but it should be cleaning up its own temp files except in rare circumstances. I've never had orphaned temp files in the decade+ I've been using Photoshop and Indesign. Still, if they're a problem, you only need to learn where they're stored once.

The easiest way to view long filenames is in list mode. If you're looking through a bunch of files with long filenames, it's stupid to do it in grid mode, where you're obviously constrained by the grid. The desktop itself is grid-mode-only, but the desktop folder can be viewed in a Finder window like any other folder. And if you must - hover your mouse over a truncated filename and the full thing will pop up as a tooltip (if you're navigating through the files with the keyboard, hitting enter or return will show the whole thing).

And your resale value - obviously this varies from place to place but a Mac about a year old should sell for at least 2/3 its original value - $2k or maybe even $2.2k would have been more than reasonable for a 6 month old Mac. 1/2 the original value is more common for a 2+ year old laptop. I have a number of friends who do the sell-and-upgrade cycle every year or two and it works quite well for them (though I personally don't find it worth the trouble). If you live somewhere where the local resale value is low, just use eBay. Based on the price, I assume this was your Mac, and now at >1 year old they're going for $1800.

In the case of an EMP we likely won't have transportation, but you can't plan for everything.

Sure you can, just buy a 30-year old turbo diesel with mechanical fuel injection.
Here's a really nice one on eBay. Bonus - fast food restaurants double as fuel stations in a pinch.

You want something with the OM617 engine - 400k miles and running perfectly is doable.

Tungsten is about the best you're gonna get if you want to buy something really heavy (almost twice as heavy as lead), that's easily available to the general public, relatively cheap, and non-toxic. I went and just bought this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tungst...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sony-S...

http://www.ebay.com/bhp/profes.... Usually used for Production recording and playback.

Few years ago I bought on ebay the JVC SR-VS10 which is a miniDV and S-VHS, and plays regular VHS. It also has a tuner (analog). There are S-video and composite in/out. AND it has firewire (DV) input and output to complement the miniDV, I've used this to firewire video in and out from a PC. I haven't had problems with jamming but with multiple kinds of inputs/outputs it makes for handling all kinds of video experiments. Retail price from when it was on market was $2000, this one on ebay for $500, http://www.ebay.com/itm/JVC-SR...

Not necessarily.

see: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sony-S...

Studios still needed a way to replay VHS tapes from a variety of sources, such as mailed in VHS tapes from regular people. Production was done in a format that's derived from Beta, but not quite beta.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-V... Asked and granted.

If you're willing to drop the requirement to surf the web while outside of Wi-Fi range, an iPod touch plus a dumbphone supporting only voice and SMS costs less than an iPhone, and its service costs less per month than iPhone service.

A better solution is an iPhone or android device with service through Lycamobile. The reason is Lycamobile doesn't force you into getting a data plan for your smart phone. Monthly service through them is as cheap $16/month. They also offer 2 cent/minute prepaid plan. Any unlocked SIM based GSM phone will work, all you need is a Lycamobile SIM card, which you can typically find on eBay for $1

Lycamobile is a mobile phone virtual network, in the United States they piggyback on the T-Mobile network.

The best answer would be a Net Gun.

From market or DIY. That's $400 or $60-$80.

I think many of the catched drone parts can be salvaged, after the fall.

Anyone can buy Google Glasses right now on eBay. The going rate is about $1100. Google Glass "invitations" have been for sale on eBay for months. The going rate is about $50.

As an "exclusive launch", this is a flop. There have been XBox and Sony PSn launches where pre-order prices exceeded list price. Google Glasses are already selling at a discount before the launch. This thing is overpriced. It needs to launch at $995, and that will only hold until Samsung starts shipping.

Infrared Night Vision

This is probably one of the least understood features available, and yet, it is one of the most important features. Although a high quality camera (especially a high quality CCD camera) can provide a picture under a wide variety of lighting conditions (including very low light), it can't provide a clear picture in near or total darkness. That's where the infrared night vision illumination LEDs (light emitting diodes) come in.

On a high quality night vision equipped camera, the infrared LEDs turn on automatically whenever the ambient (background) light drops to a level that's too low for the image sensor to produce a high quality picture. The infrared LEDs operate at a light frequency that is well beyond the human eye's ability to see, but the image sensor in the camera is designed to detect this light just like the visible light that we can see.

One big difference between a high quality rear view camera and a lower quality one, is its ability to illuminate the area seen by the camera. Ideally, the infrared illuminators will illuminate the entire field of view produced by the camera, and will illuminate out to a distance of at least 20 feet from the camera. The higher end cameras will typically illuminate out to a distance of 30 to 50 feet from the camera.

Automatic System Switching

Possibly the most important feature to look for when purchasing a rear view camera system, is that system's ability to switch on automatically whenever the vehicle's transmission is placed in reverse. This is accomplished by connecting a single wire to the vehicle's backup light circuit, sending a signal to the rear view camera system, causing it to switch on without any action by the operator.

Wide Angle Field of View

The field of view provided by any camera is determined by a combination of image sensor size and lens focal length. The larger the image sensor, the wider the possible field of view. However, a larger image sensor does not necessarily guarantee a wider field of view. Many rear view camera systems utilize a 1/4" image sensor and provide only a 60 to 90 degree field of view. While a 90 degree field of view may be sufficient for some smaller vehicles, a 120 degree field of view is strongly preferred. You should absolutely avoid any system that produces lower than a 90 degree field of view. Most high quality rear view cameras that utilize a 1/3" image sensor and produce a 120 degree field of view --- that is ideal for most applications.

On the other hand, there are some rear view systems advertised with fields of view as wide as 210 degrees. These super wide field of view cameras are not intended for use on rear view camera systems, and will generally produce a 'fish-eye' image that will be extremely distorted and very dangerous to use.

Mirror Image Capability

A rear view camera system should have the capability to produce a 'mirror' (or 'reverse') image through the camera and/or monitor.

Why do you want a 'mirror' image? In order to see the same type of image that you would see in a rear view mirror, the camera and/or monitor must be capable of reversing the image produced. This capability will provide the same type of image through a rear view camera system that you would see if you were looking into a rear view mirror, and that's exactly what you want for safe operation.

Audio Monitoring

Audio capability can be helpful when the driver needs the assistance of a helper while backing. While you may or may not require audio, it can also be useful when a camera is being used to monitor the interior of a trailer (carrying people or animals).

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT REAR VIEW CAMERAS

It seems every other week some genius thinks he can solve the stolen phone epidemic with a magical "kill switch". These people need to be slapped repeatedly with a clue-by-four, because as long as phones have value as parts or can be resold to fools, they will still be stolen.

But okay, let's imagine for a moment that all cell phones are suddenly equipped with a kill switch that makes them disappear upon being reported stolen. So, you believe desperate criminal types who are mugging people for valuable electronics are simply going to throw their hands up and shout "Curses! Foiled again!"?

This kinda reminds me how Bitcoin fans can go on and on about how secure the blockchain is and how amazingly difficult it would be to game the system. So, of course, the criminals simply resort to good old fashioned scams and schemes to nefariously obtain Bitcoins.

Up until recently you didn't need Google Play Services to run most apps on Android, but things do seem to be moving in that direction slowly but surely.

I guess you could order a Firefox OS phone that's not tied to any major social network / identity ecosystem: http://stores.ebay.com/ztemobi... Doesn't look great, but it's only 80 bucks.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tektro...

This is the molded skirt with numbers underneath. I don't know why he calls them "remanufactured", he made them from scratch, you can even tell the notch was hand-filed.

There are some 3D printed feet and knobs that I can't find pics of right now...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/24-HOU...

That original $30,000 shipment was apparently 2,000 multimeters. I'm guessing that $30,000 "worth" of Fluke meters, while a nice gift, will constitute a lot fewer units, meaning fewer makers will end up getting their hands on a meter.

I guess the makers will have to get by on $10 eBay meters instead of $15 SparkFun meters (that coincidentally, *also* have the Fluke color scheme).

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Digita...

Or this $5 unit from Harbor Freight, that also happens to have a spot for testing PNP and NPN transistors.

That is, $5 if you don't have one of the "free multimeter" coupons they put in the Sunday paper every other week.

That one won't work, it's red, not yellow. Yellow meters are better, that's why everyone wants a Fluke.

That original $30,000 shipment was apparently 2,000 multimeters. I'm guessing that $30,000 "worth" of Fluke meters, while a nice gift, will constitute a lot fewer units, meaning fewer makers will end up getting their hands on a meter.

I guess the makers will have to get by on $10 eBay meters instead of $15 SparkFun meters (that coincidentally, *also* have the Fluke color scheme).

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Digita...

Or this $5 unit from Harbor Freight, that also happens to have a spot for testing PNP and NPN transistors.

That is, $5 if you don't have one of the "free multimeter" coupons they put in the Sunday paper every other week.

That original $30,000 shipment was apparently 2,000 multimeters. I'm guessing that $30,000 "worth" of Fluke meters, while a nice gift, will constitute a lot fewer units, meaning fewer makers will end up getting their hands on a meter.

I guess the makers will have to get by on $10 eBay meters instead of $15 SparkFun meters (that coincidentally, *also* have the Fluke color scheme).

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Digita...

No, you don't understand, this thing looks *exactly* like a Fluke. It's not just that they used the color yellow, it's that the shape and coloring are similar enough to be misleading. Without a clear view of the label at the top, a lot of people would think it was a Fluke. I applaud SparkFun for wanting to sell cheap multimeters, but I've seen plenty of other $15-30 multimeters and none of them looked like a grey market clones of an existing product line.

Yea, because they don't have anything like that on ebay... oh wait... http://www.ebay.com/itm/Segway...

Yeah. That worked for Buggy Whips. I'm sure you could have bought a buggy whip for less money back around 1900. I hope you're in it for the long run though.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pionee...
100 DVD changer for $300

http://www.kintronics.com/HITs... stores 560 blu-ray discs with 8 internal drives.

There have always been automated CD/DVD/etc changers around.

Well, maybe a bad dashboard doesn't mean the whole car is horrible, but it can certainly change the way you feel about a car. Even a single bad *detail* can ruin the experience for you.

I remember back around 1969, my mom bought a Buick Skylark: forest green, with a black vinyl roof. Very chic for the era. In most respects it was a pretty good car for 1969, especially with the optional 8 cylinder engine that put out 230 HP. Nobody balked at 12 MPG fuel economy back then. It was even rather good looking -- maybe not in the same league as a classic Mustang, but brawny and compact for 1969. Check out the Sports Coupe on this page. That's it, fourth from the top. Mom's car.

This car had one fatal flaw: the climate control UI. That was an impressive "space age" affair in which the settings were made on a thumb wheel and displayed on a bar graph. The graph even turned red when you went from AC to heat. Here it is on ebay. Look closely at the worm gear mechanism used to operate the bar readout. This was a fatal flaw that turned what would have been a very nice car into a lemon.

Unlike the basic lever and cable arrangement in less expensive cars, with this you have no tactile feedback. You can't feel whether you've set the control to AC or heat, much less how much heat you've called for. Check out the worm gear mechanism in the photos. That meant you had to rotate the knob maybe three times to go from max AC to max heat. Since only part of the knob protruded from the faceplate you could maybe rotate it 60 degrees with one swipe of your thumb. So when you wanted to change the temperature, you had to take your eyes off the road to see the bar graph, then often frob the control wheel with your thumb five or six times to get the setting you wanted.

I remember my Mom cursing that car every time she wanted to change the temperature. It was one small detail that ruined what would otherwise have been a terrific car. This is the first car I remember in detail, and it taught me an important lesson about user interfaces: impressive controls and displays don't necessarily make a UI convenient or pleasant to use.

Boat keels are usually made of lead. In order to counter the weight above CG, massive amounts of weight are added to the keel as low as possible. Sailboats use more lead per foot than powerboats but powerboats and vessels such as barges are absolutely massive. Boats are basically massive Weeble Wobbles. http://www.ebay.com/bhp/weeble-wobbles/

Being at the lowest part of the vessel and constantly in the water, keels are prone to blistering, leaching, and sometimes they just fall off. All this is just left in the sea. The other amazing thing is the amount of copper these boats go through. Most bottom paints are 50-75% copper. All the copper is leached out in about 2 years in southern climes, 5 years in northern. Most 35' sailboats take 1.5 - 2 gallons per bottom. That's 30 lbs of copper per sailboat every two years. Gone. Wow. A typical boat also eats about 5 pounds of zinc a year in sacrificial anodes, but zinc is cheap, so who cares.

As for your last comment, I think you're wrong. People don't really have access to video cameras that "give little to no indication that they are recording."

A while back Woot sold out a bunch of cameras that look like pens. The lens is just above the top of the clip, so when they're clipped in your pocket they're pointing out. The only indication they are recording is a small orange LED on the back side, hidden from view.

Or get them from ebay. Or Walmart.

All the carriers have to do is to ban the IMEI number of the phone when it is reported stolen and the phone can't be activated on the network.

I realize people can't be bothered to do a Google search, but the USA has had a national IMEI blacklist since October 31st, 2012. See this CTIA press release. It's also not difficult to check if a phone is blacklisted, this site is one place that does ESN/IMEI checks for free.

We've lived with this situation long enough to know what the outcome has been. People still steal phones because they have value as parts. Also, they're bought up by scammers that re-sell them to people on Craigslist who don't know any better. It's also worth mentioning not all of these phones are stolen, it's generally a mix of phones that were lost, traded in without disabling the phone's lock, insurance fraud and some that are blocked by the carrier for a defaulted payment plan or wireless contract.

There's absolutely nothing stopping a criminal from forcing the person they're mugging to sign out/disable a phone's locking feature. Apple even has a helpful guide (ostensibly for people looking to give away, trade-in or resell their old iDevice) explaining the process. Are you really going to tell a criminal "no" when they've got a gun pointed at you? If your city has a mugging problem, then something needs to be done about the crime. If it's not cell phones, it will be good, old fashioned wallets, purses and jewelry.

All the carriers have to do is to ban the IMEI number of the phone when it is reported stolen and the phone can't be activated on the network.

I realize people can't be bothered to do a Google search, but the USA has had a national IMEI blacklist since October 31st, 2012. See this CTIA press release. It's also not difficult to check if a phone is blacklisted, this site is one place that does ESN/IMEI checks for free.

We've lived with this situation long enough to know what the outcome has been. People still steal phones because they have value as parts. Also, they're bought up by scammers that re-sell them to people on Craigslist who don't know any better. It's also worth mentioning not all of these phones are stolen, it's generally a mix of phones that were lost, traded in without disabling the phone's lock, insurance fraud and some that are blocked by the carrier for a defaulted payment plan or wireless contract.

There's absolutely nothing stopping a criminal from forcing the person they're mugging to sign out/disable a phone's locking feature. Apple even has a helpful guide (ostensibly for people looking to give away, trade-in or resell their old iDevice) explaining the process. Are you really going to tell a criminal "no" when they've got a gun pointed at you? If your city has a mugging problem, then something needs to be done about the crime. If it's not cell phones, it will be good, old fashioned wallets, purses and jewelry.

All the carriers have to do is to ban the IMEI number of the phone when it is reported stolen and the phone can't be activated on the network.

I realize people can't be bothered to do a Google search, but the USA has had a national IMEI blacklist since October 31st, 2012. See this CTIA press release. It's also not difficult to check if a phone is blacklisted, this site is one place that does ESN/IMEI checks for free.

We've lived with this situation long enough to know what the outcome has been. People still steal phones because they have value as parts. Also, they're bought up by scammers that re-sell them to people on Craigslist who don't know any better. It's also worth mentioning not all of these phones are stolen, it's generally a mix of phones that were lost, traded in without disabling the phone's lock, insurance fraud and some that are blocked by the carrier for a defaulted payment plan or wireless contract.

There's absolutely nothing stopping a criminal from forcing the person they're mugging to sign out/disable a phone's locking feature. Apple even has a helpful guide (ostensibly for people looking to give away, trade-in or resell their old iDevice) explaining the process. Are you really going to tell a criminal "no" when they've got a gun pointed at you? If your city has a mugging problem, then something needs to be done about the crime. If it's not cell phones, it will be good, old fashioned wallets, purses and jewelry.

Well the firefox phone will ship for $100 or less with a 2 year warranty; for that price, how much support do you need?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281165...

As for apps, there are 3000+ on https://marketplace.firefox.co...

NB: I have an android phone but I'm just curious to see FF OS evolve but the hardware is very 2010...

>> Someone who uses 10GB a month should pay ten times as much as someone who uses 1GB a month
> your pricing structure is way off. There is a physical infrastructure that must be maintained regardless of whether you're using 1GB/mo or 1TB/mo.

This is cheap infrastructure to keep in place for 1 GB. There is expensive new infrastructure to buy for 1 TB.

24 port 100 Mbps switches cost about $15
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html...

24 port 10GbE switches cost about $450 - $3200
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html...

So in fact the infrastructure cost DOES scale with bandwidth. In fact, it's more extreme than that. Lower capacity infrastructure is already installed.
To higher usage per user, new infrastructure has to be installed.

>> Someone who uses 10GB a month should pay ten times as much as someone who uses 1GB a month
> your pricing structure is way off. There is a physical infrastructure that must be maintained regardless of whether you're using 1GB/mo or 1TB/mo.

This is cheap infrastructure to keep in place for 1 GB. There is expensive new infrastructure to buy for 1 TB.

24 port 100 Mbps switches cost about $15
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html...

24 port 10GbE switches cost about $450 - $3200
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html...

So in fact the infrastructure cost DOES scale with bandwidth. In fact, it's more extreme than that. Lower capacity infrastructure is already installed.
To higher usage per user, new infrastructure has to be installed.

As others have stated, this is exactly how Apple's iCloud lock works. If the owner of the device remotely locks it or it is factory reset through iTunes, it will be useless except for displaying a screen prompting for the owner's Apple ID and password. So far, all it has really accomplished is giving some extra headache to businesses that accept phone trade-ins and slightly lowering the value of lost/stolen iDevices on eBay. We also already have a national IMEI blacklist, which mostly seems to have succeeded only in increasing the number of scam artists re-selling unusable phones to gullible people (in most cases, they're generally not stolen - the sleazy cell phone companies here in the US are happy to block a phone's serial number if the phone was associated with a service contract or handset financing plan and the previous owner defaulted on it).

Besides, what's to stop a thief from taking a page out of the trade-in services' books and simply demanding you turn off/sign out of your phone's remote kill switch feature? If they're threatening someone at gun/knife point, it's not exactly like the victim would have much choice in the matter.

If people are being robbed, your city has a crime problem that needs to be solved with good, old fashioned police work.

As others have stated, this is exactly how Apple's iCloud lock works. If the owner of the device remotely locks it or it is factory reset through iTunes, it will be useless except for displaying a screen prompting for the owner's Apple ID and password. So far, all it has really accomplished is giving some extra headache to businesses that accept phone trade-ins and slightly lowering the value of lost/stolen iDevices on eBay. We also already have a national IMEI blacklist, which mostly seems to have succeeded only in increasing the number of scam artists re-selling unusable phones to gullible people (in most cases, they're generally not stolen - the sleazy cell phone companies here in the US are happy to block a phone's serial number if the phone was associated with a service contract or handset financing plan and the previous owner defaulted on it).

Besides, what's to stop a thief from taking a page out of the trade-in services' books and simply demanding you turn off/sign out of your phone's remote kill switch feature? If they're threatening someone at gun/knife point, it's not exactly like the victim would have much choice in the matter.

If people are being robbed, your city has a crime problem that needs to be solved with good, old fashioned police work.

The picture shows a Heidelberg GTO-46. Plain old school offset press.
Just like this one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HEIDEL...
One color. So multiple passes are required for full color.
Does not emboss.

Actually, I work in the automotive industry, and dabble in tech. I like getting my hands dirty. Now and then my craigslist ad gets a hit and I do a house-call, either teaching someone your age to use their computer or putting in some new ram or whatever, but the rate is never comparable to what I can make as automotive technician. My eyes are always peeled for a tech job which suits me, but very few would or could. I'm one of those guys who can be good at anything, sorry. So, truly, I have no legitimate way to justify buying newer stuff at the moment. I'm currently bidding on a much more powerful Lenovo machine which I could put a USB 3 card in and such, but the chances of getting it at my price are pretty slim, and I'm okay with that -- at present this is a weekend hobby.

Keep bitching at them, especially the Linux firms. Tell them to call me if they need a good salesman for that kind of thing.

Sorry I got a bit ticked. I do that sometimes.

Um, this is the link to my potential upgrade, in case someone wants to outbid me. I was doing that on my new tablet, which I don't, you might have guessed, have a bluetooth keyboard for... why does Slashdot mobile not have preview, or does it?

I use xfce for two reasons. I read that Linus himself recommended it and Unity is slow as fuck on my 2gb of ram. I'm hoping to upgrade my system soon, though.

I use Linux because it is fun and secure. I would say I prefer a âoeclassicâ desktop but I don't see that really as a valid explanation. The latest OSX retains features of the original MacOS but I wouldn't say that the explosion of Mac users gives a damn about that. Part of their migration is disposable income, part of it is fashion, and part is ease of use (for a considerable financial cost). Windows users, I've heard, are alienated by Windows 8 -- largely because of the interface. A good Linux AdWords campaign would take advantage of frustrated Windows 8 user searches, IMO.

Personally I just don't believe in spending a lot on technology in a country of so much excess. My smart phone, tablet, and computer together cost me about the same as the Chromebook I bought my wife for Christmas. Chrome doesn't charge to updates, Android doesn't, and neither does Linux. I use them all for this and other reasons.

But I still don't think the UI is the main attraction with Linux. I think the main attraction is the lack of obligation -- you stop liking it, you can stop using it and there is no wasted financial investment. Not to mention that you can have fun educating yourself and getting it back to where you like it again.

Yes, learning how to properly structure queries is vital, but it doesn't help that Google keeps changing the rules and doesn't always respect your query elements.

For example, you can read about how Google replaced the plus-sign operator with quotation marks: http://www.seochat.com/c/a/goo...

But what's worse than that: sometimes Google just plain ignores the quotation marks you put in your query. They're supposed to mean that each search result must contain the search term that you've surrounded with quotes. Nope, lately I've been getting a lot of search results that just don't contain the term in quotes.

Other search capabilities are going away, too. For example, eBay dropped support for wildcard searches... and posted some lame workarounds that just don't get the job done: http://blog.ebay.com/working-a...

Please help fight against this trend toward dumbed-down search!